Peter RotherI t seems like a long time ago now since living and working in London in what was a high point of my life. With hindsight, I would have liked to keep a better log of all the happenings over there for the sake of memorability but I simply lost the will to write.
It was an experience to have lived and worked in such a large English city where any idea of how English actually live and work is masked by a mass of immigrants, temporary workers such as myself, and camera-wielding tourists. It is not a place I could ever envision raising a family in but as a young working professional it really has some appeal.
London is not only crammed full of people but also and perhaps inherently, full of possibility. Within one week of putting my name out I was sought by a firm—not even the other way around. The interview went well even without a proper suit and I was offered the job that week! There are many options when it comes to living arrangements as well. Lydia and I rolled the dice and picked a house share before touching English soil. We ended up with a nice landlord, cheap rent, and a beautiful place to live. However, you do have to be watchful for scammers and the like.
Entertainment is highly accessible in London albeit a bit pricey. Once I started making money there, spending some of it on weekends for a pint or two didn't leave a dent in the wallet. The parks of London always made for a nice time when the weather was right. For a big city the green space is rather extensive and provides city dwellers with an escape from the hustle and bustle. Speaking of escape, we were able to spend a weekend in Brighton, which was made easy by a short and cheap train ride and a cheap hotel room all booked the day of.
One of the highlights of my work abroad trip was traveling to another big city, Vienna. The company I worked for flew Lydia and me to Austria for Euro 2008 to help on-site. We worked from a hotel there day in—day out for nearly a month. As dull as it sounds, the atmosphere was so exuberant that we were hardly bored or let down. At the end of the trip we set aside some time to explore the city and have a good time. I would not hesitate to do such a job again.
Coming back from Vienna to London time slowed down a bit and we spent our free-time resting or going to parks. I wanted to stay longer but there was virtually no way to get a visa without college education so I decided to come back to the US and finish up my schooling, which brings us to now. I am back at UC with my sights on a degree and if all goes well, I will have one come June 2009.